Luckily I managed to drag my sick and S.A.D. self out of the house today. I can’t say I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I was happy to be out and about none the less. Fashiontweet went back to Haarlem, which was my hometown for a long while before we moved to Amsterdam.

I had not been back in ages and I was amazed by some of the changes that took place in such a short time. This is the route we walked and a couple of my absolute favourite shops, this list is not exhaustive but reflects the top choices.

Haarlem route and favourite shops

First stop was at Dennis’ living, Dennis has had a great flower shop for years in the centre of Haarlem and recently added a home & lifestyle store to his repertoire.  Dennis’ living is located in a 19th century building which adds to its charm.  Let’s have a look:

Dennis' living

If you are a loyal reader, which of course you are ?! you will recognise the green beauty engineered forever cleaning products. Dennis has a great selection of products and the shop has a great atmosphere which is such a bonus I think…

So back to fashion, I made a point of visiting Pepa fashion, a recent addition to my Haarlem favourites, Pepa sells brand like Modstrom, Super Trash and bikinis from Blue Glue. I think it’s so great they have bikini’s all year around as most of us try to get to the sun in the winter anyway.

Pepa Fashion

Pepa Fashion currently has a sale for wintercoats and their bikini’s are 50% off, the rest of fall/winter collection sale will start in a week or so.  I have always enjoyed shops like these, with a relatively small collection of quality items, such as great basic t-shirts from Petit Bateau. I’m a big fan of Pepa Fashion.

On our way back to the station we passed a shop window which got my attention, I like these looks for holiday parties:

Party outfits @ WE

I suggest to wear just the dress or top from WE and pair it with your favourite jeans, clutch and high heels, I wouldn’t source the whole outfit at WE (please dont buy those tacky long shiny gloves) but as items by themselves they are great and well priced.

I just opened my new Elle (thanks to the BF as I am still abstaining from purchasing ‘luxury’ items) and a flyer fell out for the Viktor & Rolf exhibition in the Centraal Museum in Utrecht.

The House of V&R

Description of the exhibition from the Centraal Museum ” ‘The House of Viktor & Rolf’, the largest extensive exhibition ever presented in The Netherlands by the famous designer duo, opens at the Centraal Museum on 25 November. The exhibition offers all visitors the unique opportunity to experience an exclusive fashion event hosted by Viktor & Rolf. This retrospect draws attention to spectacular highlights from the Viktor & Rolf collection over the past fifteen years. During this period, the influential duo wowed the fashion world with their heady mix of cool irony and surreal beauty. Following a successful stint at the Barbican Art Gallery in London, the exhibition now moves to the Centraal Museum in Utrecht. Centraal Museum places an integral focus on current fashion. ”

The exhibition runs until 8 February 2009 and I definately plan on going to see it. Who would like to join me?

Check out this girl, I ran into her at the drugstore near work. Her make-up and hair were flawless and so was her outfit. Not a thing out of place. I L.O.V.E. her handbag … kudos

cute girl outside drugstore

Well I never thought fashiontweet would take of the way it has. Thanks to y’all for visiting …
 
I feel so happy and elated about it, its hard to describe. Yesterday I received my first request to place a banner on fashiontweet. A friend of mine has a cute store in Haarlem and would like to promote her shop on fashiontweet.
 
So here’s the question of today, how do I approach such a request?  I would love your advice.

I went to see Damian Hirst’s diamond skull yesterday  at the Rijksmuseum with a dear friend of mine. We were totally blown away by it. I was kind of apprehensive after hearing so much about it. Then when we got there I was a little afraid because the room in which it is presented is completely dark, not a good place for someone who can’t see… in the dark. Anyway, it was amazing, such detailed craftmanship. It really made me think and that doesnt happen often (with art I mean :)

So, back to the budget shopping tips, they have a really cute collection of artsy fartsy knick knacks in the museumshop, very pretty and very affordable. Nice china, art books, and even some great jewelry, so the good kind of knick knacks… Their collection of copies of famous paintings was also impressive, these are not cheap but a fantastic gift for classic art fans.
 
Now for something completely different, why don’t you give the gift of meditation? Now thats a gift that will keep on giving.
 
I was made aware of a fantastic deal here locally at the Maitreya institute, you can purchase a 10 day pass for only € 28 for supervised meditation. Mondays from 19.00 - 19.45 english medidation / Wednesdays from 19.00 - 19.45 dutch medidation. It is not neccessary to pre register and you can bring a friend on your own pass.
 
Sure this is a local deal, but I am sure if you would like to give this type of gift you can find a local meditation institute.
 
Have fun gift shopping, I know I will :)

Yes you read it right, I got a job! a writing job that is, next to my day job. Check out my blog (in dutch) on viva.nl ….

Then this is the gadget for you, so cute! http://www.tea-stain.com/

Check out these amazing green cleaning products from B_E_E. They don’t smell like the regular green products that make you feel like green products can’t be cute or smell nice.  They smell wonderful. Keep an eye out for this stuff, its being introduced to the dutch market as we speak. 

products range B E E

Check out my work friend H. She is wearing a great little Chanel inspired suit with an amazing blue contrast colour. Whilst combining strong colours with black can make you look like a vague memory from the eighties, this colour really works. Her opaque tights are a little big and therefor create an edgy effect around the knees. Very cute indeed. I love careerwoman who are not afraid to look like a girl.

Work friend H